Strengthen Your Automotive Supply Chain

Learn why Tier 1 and Tier 2 automotive suppliers source rubber auto parts and plastic auto parts from Elasto Proxy, a custom fabrication specialist with facilities in Canda, the United States, and China.

By John Rye
Branch Manager for Elasto Proxy

In the automotive industry, original equipment manufacturers (OEM) supply finished products such as cars, trucks, buses, and vans to the consumer marketplace. These OEMs don’t manufacture everything themselves, however. Instead, they rely upon a network of suppliers who add value through technical design, system integration, and custom fabrication.

The automotive supply chain is complex, so it helps to have a model to describe it. Instead of a metal chain with links, imagine a pyramid with different tiers. At the top of the pyramid are the OEMs. Right below the automakers are the Tier 1 suppliers of modules or systems. The pyramid doesn’t end there, however, and other tiers play supporting roles.

As the diagram that accompanies this article shows, there are Tier 2 component suppliers, Tier 3 parts suppliers, and an extensive automotive aftermarket. Companies in the “lower” supply chain tiers don’t directly interact with automakers, but Tier 1 and Tier 2 suppliers depend on them. For reliable rubber auto parts and plastic auto parts, automotive suppliers call upon Elasto Proxy for its design and fabrication expertise.

The Heart of the Auto Industry

For over 25 years, Elasto Proxy has helped supply chain partners meet their application requirements for quality, performance, and cost.  Founded in 1989, Elasto Proxy flourished in Quebec and then expanded to Ontario, the heart of Canada’s auto industry. With our sales office and warehouse in Newmarket, we’re close not just to Toronto, but to Oshawa, Windsor, and even Detroit itself.

Tier 1 and Tier 2 suppliers to the Big Three automakers like that we stock materials in Ontario and can respond quickly to demand. Parts don’t have to be imported from overseas and then shipped across the continent to Canada’s automotive plants. Port slowdowns and dockworker strikers on the coasts won’t constrain these shipments either. Air freight is expensive, and shorter supply chains enhance logistics.

From our sales office in China, Elasto Proxy can also help international automakers with local sourcing initiatives. By leveraging our strong business relationships, we can help Tier 1 and Tier 2 suppliers to control costs without sacrificing quality. Elasto Proxy also maintains a sales office and warehouse in Simpsonsville, South Carolina, not far from automotive assembly plants in the southern United States.

Adding Value to Automotive Supply Chains

Elasto Proxy understands that automotive suppliers need more than just a parts provider, however. As your supply chain partner, we have the application knowledge and technical expertise to offer advice about material selection, additional data on force and deflection, and proof about the life cycle of parts. By listening to all of your application requirements, we add value to your supply chain.

For example, if you specify that a brake release must cycle a certain number of times before showing a specific percentage of wear, Elasto Proxy can help prove that the part is right for the application. If a custom molded part is in high-demand, we can safeguard your safety factors by releasing parts from our warehouses in response to your sales forecasts.

Elasto Proxy’s automotive industry experience includes custom-molded stoppers and bumpers for seat tracks, molded plastic parts with the words “press here”, and molded rubber pads and end-pieces for emergency brake pedals. These pedal pads combined a rubber part with a plastic insert for the lettering, and were more challenging to produce than a standard pedal pad. We’ve also supplied lengths of rubber and plastic tubing for automotive wiring, parts for car door assemblies, and U-shaped rubber isolators for hood props.

Vendor Selection Starts Here

Are you a Tier 1 or Tier 2 automotive supplier? Are you reviewing your vendor list, or searching for a custom fabrication specialist who can produce rubber or plastic parts for a particularly demanding project? Elasto Proxy has worked with suppliers to some of the world’s biggest automakers, and helps keep assembly lines humming in an industry where stock-outs are not an option.

How can we help you? Do you need molded parts, tubing, bumpers, edge trim, or window channels? Elasto Proxy keeps over 700 standard rubber profiles in stock, and supplements its extensive product catalog by working with a trusted network of material suppliers. Our production team is highly-skilled, and combines traditional craftsmanship with state-of-the-art technology like waterjet cutting.

Watch this short video to learn more about us.

Then, when you’re ready to strengthen your automotive supply chain for rubber and plastic parts, contact us. We’re ready to help.